Introduction
About a quarter of the over 40-year-olds suffer from short-sightedness (myopia) and this frequency is increasing steadily, especially in the industrialized countries. As a nearsighted person, nearby objects can still be clearly recognized, while those further away become blurred. This is due to the fact that the eyeball has grown too long (axial myopia) or the refractive power of the lens (refractive myopia) is too strong, so that the bundling of the incoming rays already occurs in front of the retina and the short-sighted person sees blurred.
Treatment of myopia
The therapy of myopia is based on the cause. For example, an illness or an accident can be present, which has led to myopia. This must first be excluded or treated before a correction of the defective vision of the eye can be made. The most common form of myopia often involves the use of contact lenses or glasses that can compensate for the refractive error of the eye. Concave glasses or unilaterally concave contact lenses are used for this purpose, which thus shift the focal point of the eye back to the retina.
Treatment of short-sightedness with laser procedures
Through new technologies in refractory surgery, refraction and thus short-sightedness can be permanently improved with the help of modern laser procedures. For this purpose, the uppermost layer of the cornea is temporarily folded to the side by laser cutting, so that the access to the underlying tissue of the cornea is exposed. This tissue is then reshaped and corrected by laser impulses so that the folded cornea can be folded back again and adheres to its original position due to adhesive forces and quickly grows together.
This procedure is performed on an outpatient basis and the operated patients are fully fit for work again after a few days. This method can help nearsighted people with up to – 10 diopters, but it is a prerequisite that the myopia has remained constant over a longer period of time and is not progressive. Laser treatment is considered to be relatively low-risk and especially patients with severe short-sightedness or competitive athletes can be given back a great deal of life comfort by freeing themselves from heavy glasses or slipping contact lenses.